Flowering Death (3.5e Creature)

Trish searched for the next hand hold above her as tears continued to slide down her cheeks. How had this happened? They had torn down civilizations, fought entire armies by themselves, and lived! But, now, she was the only one left. Desmond had been the first to fall, his blood splattering across the ground as he crumpled onto the floor, his eyes not seeing anything before him. Next had been Alex, she had been drug away, still alive, still screaming, still pleading for death. Then Arther and Naomi, they had died in each others arms at least. Then Jacob, Ramond, and Lynn. They had been coming after Trish then, but Trish had ran, she had ran faster than she ever had before, her hair and clothes soaked with the blood of her friends. Then she was here, on this wall, climbing to an unknown location, just climbing for a sense of purpose. She eventually reached the top, and drug herself up onto the flat surface it led to, her body limp, having been pushed to its limits by adrenaline. She lay there for what felt like a very long time, simply crying into the earth beneath her, but then she heard it, a whisper of motion. Her head sprang up, and, in the instant before she died, she saw it, another one of them, a black flower, borne aloft on its roots.

The deceptively peaceful bloom of a resting flowering death.

	Flowering Death
Size/Type:	Medium Plant (Chaotic, Evil)
Hit Dice:	140d8+4920 (5550 hp)
Initiative:	+30
Speed:	20 ft. (4 squares)
Armor Class:	90 (+24 deflection, +22 Dex, +34 natural), touch 56, flat-footed 66
Base Attack/Grapple:	+105/+144
Attack:	Tentacle +160 melee (6d8+39/×3 plus poison)
Full Attack:	10 Tentacles +160 melee (6d8+39/×3 plus poison)
Space/Reach:	5 ft./30 ft.
Special Attacks:	Enery drain, fear aura, poison, toxic fumes
Special Qualities:	Blindsight 200 ft., DR 150/Good, extended reach, immunities, improved evasion, plant traits, regeneration 300, slow and steady, SR 100
Saves:	Fort +105, Ref +68, Will +51
Abilities:	Str 88, Dex 54, Con 76, Int 14, Wis 20, Cha 40
Skills:	Balance +165, Climb +189, Listen +148, Spot +148
Feats:	Combat Expertise, Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Epic Dodge, Epic Prowess (×16), Epic Toughness (×10), Improved Combat Reflexes, Improved Initiative, Improved Natural Armor (×11), Improved Natural Attack, Mobility, Superior Expertise, Superior Initiative
Environment:	Underground
Organization:	Solitary, patch (2-8), grove (10-40), or garden (20-140 flowering death with 2-14 elder titan caretakers)
Challenge Rating:	70
Treasure:	Standard
Alignment:	Always neutral evil
Advancement:	140-200 HD (Medium); 201-260 HD (Large); 261-320 HD (Huge)
Level Adjustment:	—

Flowering death are dangerous and volatile things whose existence is hardly ever even realized, seeing as they tend to live within some of the darkest, deepest, most secluded locations that things can live in. The first flowering death ever discovered was found approximately 1.5 miles underground, and managed to kill half of the exploration team as they attempted to capture it. From experiments on this particular specimen (before it escaped the arcane biologists who where studying it and the surrounding countryside was burned to try and contain the plant) a theory arose that the flowering death came about as the result of the resonant forces given off by particularly powerful, evil creatures (such as phanes or evil elder titans) affecting the world around them and congealing around fungi and other plant matter, strengthening them. Of course, this theory has been ridiculed and shot down by many authorities who believe that a beings energies could not possibly create something that is stronger that the original being was, as would be the case if the theory were true. Though, the debate is still being had. Many who are aware of the existence of flowering death are also aware that there is speculation that, somewhere, far underground, there may be field of flowering death, that have grown larger over the years.

Combat

Flowering death are violent entities that will attack virtually anything on sight. Though, for whatever reason, they seem to refrain from doing so when a being smells like Basil leaves (DC 100 Knowledge (Nature) in order to know this). In battle, flowering death are strangely clever. They first wait for their foes to come within their reach, and if they haven't already succumbed to the toxic fumes the flowering death releases, they strike them, many times, tearing out flesh, draining out life energy. If their enemies survive this initial assault, then they will activate their fear aura, driving their foes back and lashing them with their tentacles as they run. If they still survive this then the flowering death will employ it's slow and steady ability, and continue using it's fear aura.

Blindsight (Ex): A flowering death can “see” by detecting the smells of everything in the air around them, allowing them to locate objects and creatures within 200 feet via scent.

Damage Reduction (Ex): The hard rinds that encases a flowering deaths body seems to deflect every blow that is directed at it. Subtract 150 points of damage from any attack that is landed against a flowering death that is made from a source that does not deal good damage.

Energy Drain (Su): A flowering death is capable of draining energies from any living thing it touches, seeming to suck these energies up as though it were water. A flowering death's successful tentacle attack bestows one negative level. The target of the attack must succeed on a DC 95 Will save to remove a negative level. These save DCs are Charisma-based.

Extended Reach (Ex): The Tentacles that rest within the form of a flowering death are incredibly long, and can strike enemies from unbelievable distances. A flowering deaths reach is equal to 6 times the normal reach for a creature of their size category (30 feet for a medium flowering death, 60 feet for a large flowering death, 90 for a huge flowering death, etc.)

Fear Aura (Su): A flowering death can radiate a 100-foot-radius fear aura as a free action. A creature in the area must succeed on a DC 95 Will save or be affected as though by a fear spell (caster level 45th). A creature that successfully saves cannot be affected again by the same flowering death's aura for 24 hours. Other flowering death are immune to the aura. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Immunities (Ex): The body of a flowering death seems to be nigh impossible to harm, and seems to never tire. In addition to the immunities gained from being a plant, a flowering death has immunity to ability damage, ability drain, confusion, chaotic effects, disease, death due to massive damage, death effects, energy drain, evil effects, exhaustion, fatigue, fear effects, flanking, nausea, and petrification.

Improved Evasion (Ex): A flowering death can avoid even magical and unusual attacks with great agility. If it makes a successful Reflex saving throw against an attack that normally deals half damage on a successful save, it instead takes no damage. Additionally, it takes only half damage on a failed save. A helpless flowering death does not gain the benefit of evasion.

Plant Traits: Immune to poison, sleep, paralysis, stunning, and polymorphing; not subject to critical hits or mind-affecting effects.

Poison (Ex): Injury, Fortitude DC 110, initial damage 10d8 Constitution and Wisdom damage, secondary damage 20d6 Constitution and Wisdom damage. The save DC is Constitution-based and includes a +8 racial bonus.

Regeneration (Ex): Flowering death grow extremely quickly, granting them regeneration 300. A flowering death takes normal damage from attacks that deal negative energy, good-aligned weapons, and spells or effects with the good descriptor. A flowering death that loses a piece of its body regrows it in 1d4x2 minutes. Holding the severed member against the stump enables it to reattach instantly.

Slow and Steady (Ex): A flowering death can fight with some of the most incredible skill imaginable, taking actions that even the most weathered of warriors could not manage. As a swift action a flowering death can take a −15 penalty to it's Dex score for a single round, and then treat a full-round attack option as a standard action for that round.

Spell Resistance (Ex): If a flowering death is targeted by a spell or spell-like ability that allows spell resistance, the caster of the spell or spell-like ability must succeed on a caster level check (1d20 + caster level, DC 100) or have the spell not affect them.

Toxic Fumes (Ex): A flowering death constantly releases a potent cocktail of spores and airborne contagions into the air. These fumes seep in through pores and begin rotting a being's body with ease, making it extremely difficult to even get close to them. If a creature begins its round within 100 feet of a flowering death, then they must make a Fortitude save (DC 102) or become exhausted. If an exhausted creature begins it's round within 100 feet of a flowering death, then they must make a Fortitude save (DC 102) or become nauseated. If a nauseated creature begins it's round within 100 feet of a flowering death, then they must make a Fortitude save (DC 102) or fall dead. The save DC is Constitution-based.

A Note to DM's

One thing must be kept in mind if this creature is being used, and that is the fact that this creature is not actually intended to actually be approached and fought in a normal game, seeing as a normal character attempting fight one would almost assuredly lose. It is intended for specifically higher level games and peculiar situations only. A series of examples follow:

• This creature may be found useful in a campaign that has been extended extremely far. For example, a group of characters who have been recycled, templated, leveled, blessed, wished apart, wished back together, weather beaten, and maximized to an insane degree, may find the flowering death to be a suitable challenge, when everything else is pathetic compared to them.

• This creature may be found useful as a plot hook. One particular situation may be that the flowering death are entities that have been feared by even the gods, and now they have begun to break away from the divine binds that held them underground, and the PCs must attempt to stop them, via some particular artifact, from overwhelming the world.

• The flowering death may be useful as a sort of roadblock. In this way, the DM merely must illustrate to the PCs the power these things have (by having a single one of the plants destroy an entire army with ease, or some equally imposing concept), and then describe a hallway as being lined with them, or have them in another place you don't want your PCs going to.

• Flowering death could be used as a descriptive tool. An example of this is by illustrating to the PCs the power of these plants (as in the above statement), and then having a villain of the story keep a garden of them in their house. In this way, the PCs can begin to truly appreciate the magnitude of this particular villain, and, if they screw up way too bad, the villain has an execution room.

• The last example that will be given here, is that of using the flowering death as a test. If a DM believes his PCs have somehow become ridiculously powerful, whether via a wish that was granted to them, or via an item they weaseled into the campaign, then the DM may test them. In this example, it is suggested that the DM stagger these tests, simply starting out the PCs against creatures of only slightly higher CRs, and then, if they still win with ease, bump up the CRs until they reach the flowering death level, and if they still win, then yes, the character is more than likely overpowered.

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